2021 King of Autumn

There are 3 blog posts between this post and the King of Autumn post from last year. All evidence points to my pretty much stopping with this blog. However, I still have a great deal of affection for it and the people I've met* through it.

I was late getting this year's photo because my commute hasn't taken me that way in a great while due to seemingly never ending road work.

Anyway here's the king:

While I in the park taking this photo, some guy walking his dog told me that I must see a red tree doing a fun colour change from the top down a couple of blocks away. Not one to ever turn down a good tree tip, here's that one:

I didn't want to let Autumn go by without keeping my tradition of posting the King, but I must admit I'm not pleased with this half-assed effort. No matter what I'm doing or not doing with the blog, I will endeavor to catch the King at his best next year.

One reason I'm not writing as much is that my creative outlets have shifted into more guitar playing and singing (which was difficult after my brain thing but is still getting better all the time) and making things out of old bikes. Remember that Trek 520 I painstakingly documented the building of? There was something up with the fork or frame that I was never able to properly correct, but made it ride funny. As a result I later converted it into wind chimes and a lamp, of course. I posted the chimes on etsy and they sold almost right away for a fairly high price, which has led to me trying more stuff. My efforts are sometimes clumsy or crude or misguided, but I'm just learning as I go, having fun and trying to sell the stuff anyway. If you're interested, take a look at my store on etsy here. 

Have a spooky good Halloween!

R A N T W I C K

*in a correspond or reply to on the Internet sense; I have never made the effort to actually meet people in person. I know some people use their online lives to strengthen or make more exciting their real existence. Not me. I kind of like keeping those things separate.

The One True Bike - Part 2 - Frame

Of the two or three people who still read this blog, a couple have asked for ALL THE DETAILS on this my latest bike project. Be careful what you wish for, losers, 'cause here they come, in as many tediously long parts as necessary!

On my fixed gear bike build, I bought a brand new frame. Nothing fancy, but I wanted true horizontal dropouts and they were hard to find in a local, used frame. On my light tourer build, a used 1980's lugged steel Trek 520 frame, which was lovely. Mutant Winter featured a tough-as-nails Alu Gary Fischer MTB hardtail/dirtjumper style frame. On this, the "1TB" build, I needed a flexible platform for what I am hoping will be my ultimate all-rounder. Most of the bikes I have owned in the last twenty years have been compact and aluminum.

I like Alu mostly for its corrosion resistance since I often ride in wet and even salty road conditions. I like compact frames with their sloping top tubes because they are easier to step over. My physical prowess and coordination leave a lot to be desired, and are, in general, worsening. You know how people swing a leg over and coast in standing on one pedal? I don't do that and never have. In addition, planned rear rack and panniers make swinging a leg over the back of the bike a problem for me.

I needed something with the clearances for bigger tires and mounting points for racks and fenders, and canti studs, because I love those frog-leg style cantilever brakes. I wanted 135mm rear spacing because I was planning on really strong wheels, which are more typically on 135mm hubs. Basically I needed a cyclocross frame. What I found pretty much was one, except for the "cyclocross" designation, since it came from a "performance hybrid" bike.

Behold: A used 20" 2010 Trek 7.2 FX compact Alu frame! Cost: $50

It had some pieces I didn't want still attached when I picked it up, like the crankset, derailleur and some of the headset. I removed those and put them in my spares collection, probably never to be used again. Never say Never, though y'know? I was glad to see the bottom bracket was still in it when I picked it up, because it was most likely the original bb, which meant nobody had tinkered with it and accidentally cross-threaded or damaged the bb shell. I am only wary of such things because I have done such things myself in the past, so no judgement there. BB removed, the threads were fine.

For getting the headset cups out of the head tube, I got fancy and made myself a removal tool by using an old seatpost, a vice, and a reciprocating saw. It felt dangerous/foolhardy while I was doing it that way, despite wearing safety glasses. Foolhardy, however, is my middle name and it worked out OK. 

Behold: The Home-made Headset Cup Removal Tool of Destiny! Cost: the fear of losing a finger or stabbing my jugular vein with a flying saw blade or something.

No more hammer and screwdriver method for me, no sir. I was afraid of damaging the inner surfaces of the tube, although my guess is that it would have been fine. Note: If I had it to do again I would have used a tube of thinner metal than that seatpost. My finished product wasn't as bendy or springy as I would have liked. Worked well though.

As you may or may not be able to see, the frame had a few scratches and scuffs, but that is fine with me; I simply don't care much about stuff like that. I may touch it up a bit, but probably not.

That's it for this installment of The One True Bike Build... see ya later. Please feel free to ask any nebulous bike freak questions you may have. I owe you that if you have actually read this far.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - As with my Trek 520 build, I think I'll keep a running tally on costs...

Used frame                                            50.00
Headset cup removal tool                        fear (0.00)

Total                                                     50.00

Random Acts of Lego Kindness and Other Good Things

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had a case of the holiday blues lately. I know, I know, cry me a river. I have no right to feel down about anything because I am truly blessed in all of the most important things. I'm writing about feeling low, though, because I am feeling decidedly better now. Yesterday was a really great day for lots of reasons:

Winter Arrived in London Ontario:

My bikes shared a brief moment together as they passed the torch and commiserated over carrying my big butt to work and back every day. Summer has been safely stored in the shed, and Mutant Winter has taken her spot in the porch lockup. Highway (the Trek 520 build), on the other hand, is living in the basement like some weird freeloading aunt who is hoping for some attention over the winter months. We shall see.

Mrs. Rantwick and I went out to do some top secret Christmas stuff yesterday morning. When we arrived home,we found this awaiting us in our bedroom:

It almost made me cry.

Please note that I will not tolerate any suggestion that this message is some kind of self-serving effort to curry favour during this time of intense focus on children's desires. This was the creation of Rantwick Jr., the same kid that created the Grumbear.

I saw a Grumbear on a family hike once.

He is a giving and genuinely loving person who, at least right now, simply doesn't think that way. Suggest any different in the comments and I will send the Grumbear your way, and believe me, you don't want to mess with him:

Later we went to a kids Christmas party at my work, where I was once again reminded of how good people can be. Tons of people volunteer to make it a truly great thing for the kids, with free food, carnival games, a bouncy castle and a really great Santa Claus (you rock, Larry) sporting a real great white beard among other nice things. People from work (some of whom one would never suspect) do all kinds of work to make it happen and I just show up, have a great time with my kids and go home happy. If any of you are reading this, thanks so very much. You put on what must be the best kids Christmas party in town, bar none, and I really appreciate it.

By the time you read this, I am hoping to have enjoyed a fully blissed-out MUP ride through powder (London doesn't plow most of the paths) coming in to work. If so, expect more good vibes from this direction soon.

Yer Decidedly "Up" Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - If you're new here and were expecting a rant, sorry. I chose my name only to discover I don't often fit it very well. I do get a little ticked sometimes, but in general I'm more on the positive side. I still like my name though, so, tough.

Trek 520 Build - Part Seven - Roadworthy

This is Part Seven in an ongoing series of posts documenting my painfully slow progress in building a light loaded touring bike. If you care to read the whole thing so far, use the "Post Series" link near the top of the sidebar.

Well, it has been a long time since I posted on my progress with the 520, partly because I have been very busy and partly because I haven't really gotten very far. That said, the bike has crossed the line that exists between idea/project and functioning machine, and some good things have definitely happened. When I left off in the last part, the bike's foundation was together, but the more complex components weren't on it yet.

The first order of business was cleaning all the old parts. I prefer to dismantle things about as far I reasonably can, getting every last bit of old grease and grit out of them. Something like a derailleur is easy enough to take apart and put back together (at least the parts you should), but the cantis from this bike frightened me a little when taken fully apart:

I managed to get them back together OK after studying pictures and diagrams online and footling about for a while...

More on brakes later. Once I had brakes, I slapped on cables, derailleurs, a chain and all that. I am pleased and surprised to say that all went very easily and I spent very little time bemused or puzzled. This was rather new to me.

The old components, while less than pristine, cleaned up pretty well, and the new stuff looked, um, new!

The moment of truth had arrived. I had tuned everything as best I could. It was time to ride it. I set out with a few tools in a backpack so I could adjust seat height and such along the way.

The test ride went great! Other than tweaking handlebar and seat height a little, everything worked. I was particularly pleased with the shifting, which was smooth in both indexed and friction, and it would seem I got the limiting screws set correctly the first time. I rode the bike to work a couple of times and I recalled why I like racks and panniers over backpacks. Anyway, that produced the desired "cable stretch" and I've re-tuned things since.

The brakes, while sufficient, are a bit of a let-down. I have fiddled and adjusted and tuned myself insane, but they still haven't got the power I'm after. I am strongly considering some Tektro 520s like the ones on my fixed gear. They have been great and are about a million times easier to install and adjust and use modern cartridge style pads. The current brakes will do for now though, because I have to abandon work on the 520 to get Mutant Winter in shape before the snow flies.

Besides, the 520, while functional, is not finished and other things matter more than new brakes. Still on my list, in order of importance:

1 - Racks

2 - Fenders

3 - Bar Tape

4 - Stickers/decals

5 - Headbadge

While getting the headbadge back on the bike will be relatively quick and easy, in my mind it is the very last thing, the finishing touch. I will be back with another instalment on the Trek when I manage to get anything more done. Don't know when that'll be. I mean, I got the frame in August of 2009. That should give you an idea of the quickness with which I work.

Thanks for tuning in, whether its your first time or, god help you, you come here often. I really appreciate it.

R A N T W I C K

PS - I almost forgot about the money again!

Build $ Tally:

Used Frame + some parts I will re-use: $80
Used Wheelset front wheel: $100 (arg!)
Blasting of frame: $50
Powder Coating of frame: $50 (super deal)
Components from Part Four: $246
Taxes and Duties on shipment: $40
14-34 Freewheel: $22
New Rear Wheel: $62
Cables and Tubes: $30

TOTAL to date: $680

Panniers are Backpack Killers

If my experience is at all representative^*, backpack makers must despise rack and pannier makers. I have commuted with panniers for the last couple of years. Recently I had the pleasure of taking my Trek 520 (build update coming soon) to work and back a few times as I tested it out and tweaked some things. The bike has no racks yet and thus can't carry panniers, or as some call them, saddlebags. So, I went back to how I used to do it and strapped on my trusty old backpack.

I didn't like it at all. Here's why:

1) Sweaty Back - Going by all the crap I read, this is perhaps the most popular reason for disliking backpacks and is quite self-explanatory.

2) Shifting Load - I suppose if I had the straps better adjusted, this wouldn't have been a problem, but the backpack also would have bound my jacket even more tightly to my body, exacerbating problem number 1. My backpack shifted around when I was making turns and stuff and I had to compensate by changing my body position a little. I didn't like that.

3) Higher Centre of Gravity - Riding with panniers, I have become accustomed to a very stable bicycle (particularly in the rear) with a nice low centre of gravity. Carrying more weight up high felt pretty weird and less safe, although I suspect I could adjust to this pretty easily if I had to. After all, Mutant Winter's load rides pretty high too (although not as high as a backpack).

4) The Principle of the Thing - Before I used panniers, I wouldn't have had the following thought, but here it is. Given a choice, why would one strap a load to oneself rather than letting the machine carry it? It is kind of like inventing the first wagon and continuing to carry the basket of wheat on your head, or going to the grocery store in your car and carrying the food home on your lap. Machines are supposed to help us out with this kind of thing.

I suspect that people who get a rack and some panniers may never go back to the backpack unless, like me, they have no choice. This is also the reason that if I were a backpack maker, I would hate rack and pannier makers. Thankfully for them there are still lots of people who don't ride bikes often enough to invest in racks and panniers and who will stick to the backpack they use while on foot. Keep the up-tick in utility cyclists going, though, and there could be a rack/pannier vs. backpack showdown, or even shootout! That would be so cool! Oh Crap. I have just been struck by WTF syndrome again:

Ah well. It is what it is.

^* In the course of writing posts for this blog, I have come to realize that my experience and reactions and opinions may not be representative of normal people in any way, shape or form. Let me know if I am preaching to the choir or way off base in the comments!

Hey, Take A Load Off.

R A N T W I C K

PS - Please note that I did not mention messenger bags. I have never owned one, so I can't reasonably comment on them. Perhaps you could, though.

Trek 520 Build - Part Six - Getting Started

This is Part Six of an ongoing series of posts documenting my painfully slow progress in building a light loaded touring bike. If you care to read the whole thing so far, use the "Post Series" link near the top of the sidebar.

Before I begin with this instalment on my Trek 520 build, I need to issue a disclaimer. I don't really know what I'm doing and I learn as I go. If you are looking for guidance in building up a bike, you're better off going to one of the many excellent instruction sites out there. If, however, you're into seeing the process of an unskilled hack, read on.

Having gotten most of the necessary bits and pieces together, I finally got a start last weekend. I elected to assemble the headset and fork first. I began by giving the headset parts a nice bath in degreaser. After they were all cleaned up, I was happy to find that the cups, cones and bearings showed no pitting or scarring worth mentioning. I wondered if the headset had been replaced at some point, they looked so good.

On the last bike I built I almost wrecked the headset trying to use a home-made headset press that consisted of a long bolt and some big washers and stuff. I had gotten the design from one of those DIY/MacGyver style web sites. This time, I was going back to the tools I had used in the past...

I use the PVC pipe to seat the crown race. I just slide on the race, then slide the steerer into the pipe, flip the fork over and bang it on the floor. The hammer and block of wood are for seating the cups in the head tube. Like I said, don't look to these posts as an example of how to things the right way, but rather the Rantwick way.

Next, I installed the bottom bracket. I had the correct tool for that, at least. Up until now I have just used some good grease to install a bb, but my bike shop friends had suggested anti-sieze compound instead, so I used that this time. The bb went in smoothly.

Having suffered a little confusion about what spindle length would be correct and having become something of a chainline nazi thanks to my fixed gear build, I was anxious to see what chainline I ended up with having used the 115mm bottom bracket. I installed the crankset to see what I got.

Chainline measures 47.5mm. From what I have read, that chainline probably favours the middle ring and granny over the big ring. That is likely a good thing since a loaded tourer and a less-than-fit me will probably make more frequent use of them than other bikes and riders might.

The used bike I originally bought came with a black stem that I didn't like much. I replaced it with a silver Nitto stem that I had lying around. It is slightly shorter, but that is good because the frame is a little big for me anyway.

I love the look of a classic "7" shaped quill stem. It is just plain sweet. I popped on the bars, seatpost, saddle and wheels, and here's where the bike is now:

There's something about a bike that doesn't have any of its fancier components on it yet that just looks beautiful to me. I guess that's why so many people love the look of a track bike. I know the bars look a little whacked, but I'm nowhere near final adjustments yet. Anyway, that's how far I got last weekend. The more fiddly components come next, but I don't know when I'll have time. It's a busy old life, ain't it?

As Always, Thanks for Reading. Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

I'm skipping the build $ tally this time, because nothing I did cost me anything. OK, anti-sieze. But I'm not counting that.

Trek 520 Build - Part Five - Bad News Good News

This is Part Five of an ongoing series of posts documenting my painfully slow progress in building a light loaded touring bike. If you care to read the whole thing so far, use the "Post Series" link near the top of the sidebar.

I've only really "built" two bikes before this one, having only gotten back into bikes in the last ten years or so. As such, I lack the experience of some other crazy life-long bike wrenching fools. Unfortunately, it sometimes shows. In this case, it shows in that one of the wheels I found for this build was bad, in more ways than one. You may recall that the freewheel on my used wheels was a 12-19, which wasn't a good match for the triple crankset I chose or touring in general. In my post about the wheels, I described that freewheel as being in excellent condition. I am stupid. I recently picked up a 14-34 freewheel, and wanted to put it on. Here is what I discovered when I tried to remove the existing one:

Not good, but no biggie, right? Sheldon Brown had some instructions for removing such a freewheel. The method was destructive, but I was OK with that. Sadly, I was incapable of getting the damn thing off anyway. My guess is that the thing was seized badly and somebody else destroyed the tabs trying to get it off. I headed over to South London Cycle, more of a repair shop than anything else. The guy who runs it figured he could get the freewheel off somehow, but in spinning the wheel noticed a flat spot. I had noticed it too and thought it was correctable or at least not too bad. I was wrong. He suggested that it would be a waste of my money to have him remove the freewheel, because this was a flat spot I would feel for sure.

I was pretty angry with myself. Live and learn, I guess. The first thing I did was inspect the one remaining rim from the original bike. It was a front, but re-lacing it to be a rear was an option. It had a big flat spot too. I went online and started the search for a new rear wheel. Unlike the last time, there was NOTHING in the local (or even nearby) classifieds like craigslist or kijiji. Ebay and other online stores offered nothing used, and I was feeling reluctant to buy used stuff again anyway. The only reasonably available and good quality 27" wheel in production seemed to be a Sun CR18. The best deal I could find was $70 plus $30 shipping plus whatever they dinged me for at customs. I was sad.

It was a Sunday, and I couldn't reach any bike shops. Many smaller shops are also closed on Monday. I was pretty distressed and wanted to just run away. So I did. I caught the red-eye to London and hung out with Ham. I had to work, however, so I jetted back to London Ontario after chilling out and having a beer.

Tuesday was a good day, because I struck paydirt on my first try. First Cycleworks came through with an in-stock 27" CR18 wheel, aluminum hub, stainless spokes, etc. $62 after tax. Although I didn't make any more calls, I'm pretty confident nobody else would have had one and would have charged me more than that to get one.

So the bad news is that I am naive and too stupid to spot a bad wheel. The good news is that I was able to recover using my wallet and a LBS. I may well try to get a CR18 for the front as well... I'm into symmetry. The used front wheel I bought, however, really is perfect (I have checked and re-checked) so all is well for now.

Build $ Tally:

Used Frame + some parts I will re-use: $80
Used Wheelset front wheel: $100 (arg!)
Blasting of frame: $50
Powder Coating of frame: $50 (super deal)
Components from Part Four: $246
Taxes and Duties on shipment: $40
14-34 Freewheel: $22
New Rear Wheel: $62

TOTAL to date: $650

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Lazily Industrious

I am nothing if not a lazy man. I hate the hassles of storing my bike in a secure location, kind of like how some people hate making their beds (I among them). I mean, why bring your bike all the way inside or into a shed only to take it out again the next morning? Sadly, I don't have a garage I could just roll into and close the door on. That would be awesome.

The good news is that I am fortunate enough to live in a house with a nice front porch. Being lazy, I would often leave my bike on the porch unlocked and sometimes lay it down so thieves wouldn't spot it in the wee hours. I must admit that I sometimes enjoyed imagining the drunken joy rider variety of thief unknowingly hopping on a fixed gear with only one brake lever for the front that is mounted on the "wrong" side. Despite that fact, this approach was causing me stress since I really do love my bike and somebody with an eye for better bike components might "case" it sooner or later. It was time for a porch lockup.

My LHS (local hardware store) is called Tuckey's Home Hardware, located in Wortley village. I like going there as do many people in Old South, because it is a good old all-purpose decidedly non-big box kind of operation. The good people there provided me with a good beefy chain and a very sturdy padlock. The best hitching ring they had was somewhat less beefy, but I figured it would do...

See how the bracket isn't exactly level? That's because while I was drilling the pilot holes in the brick my head was cocked sideways like a perplexed dog...

You see, for the lazy man, such industrious activities are a bit of a head scratcher. I find it somewhat ironic that one of the few times I got around to doing something around the house, it was because I wanted to be more lazy. In any case, the job got done, and here's my bike in porch lockup:

See those tools and bits of chain? Those are there because I work on my bike on the porch too. I do that because my perfectly good basement tool room / workbench is a terrible mess, so terrible that I can't work comfortably in it. Rather than clean it up, I work on the porch. I am a lazy man.

I know this kind of lockup wouldn't do the trick in some places, but it is plenty where I live, I think. As it happened I had just finished using Boeshield to treat my Trek 520 frame at the time, so I hosed down the chain and ring with it. The waxy feel of dry Boeshield on the chain makes me happy, because I know it probably won't rust for some time.

I know this is a boring post, but that brings to mind another paradox or irony or whatever. When I look at my web statistics (which I have a bespectacled forensic webologist study quarterly in the hopes of boosting my web traffic) it would seem that my visitors prefer my "boring" posts over my "funny" ones... I'm afraid that might mean that what I consider funny is boring and vice versa. To be honest, I don't really care why people come visit me here... I'm just glad you bother at all. Thanks!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Trek 520 Build - Part Four - Have Parts, Will Dawdle

This is Part Four of an ongoing series of posts documenting my painfully slow progress in building a light loaded touring bike. If you care to read the whole thing so far, use the "Post Series" link to the right.

Now, on with the bike building blog post that shows no sign of ending, ever!

There is something very wrong with me. I mean, there have always been lots of things wrong with me, but this is a new thing. In the past, the main stumbling block to building a bike was getting everything I needed together. I have always preferred to have all the parts necessary for the bike to function before I begin. I mean, having a bike that has everything but, say, a toilet would be utterly maddening.

Once I start putting it together, I will use every spare minute I've got until it is rolling and tuned as well as possible. Then I'll turn to the non-mechanical points like stickers or racks or fenders or whatever. Thankfully shortly before my Out Of Pocket van rental experience I had ordered and received the new parts I was going to need for this build:

When combined with the old parts that I saved when stripping the bike down in Part Two, I do believe I've got everything needed to put this thing on the road. I have a good saddle that I will use for now. I want a Brooks (since many of you told me that they are worth it) for the long-range bike, but for now the saddle I've got should be fine and is an exact match to the one on my daily commuter.

Anyway, here's what's wrong: I can't seem to get started. My tool room / workbench is such a mess I can't even work in there. Normally that wouldn't stop me; I would just work on the porch. There is something else going on that I don't understand... I want to build and ride this bike, but I'm almost scared to begin. What happened to excited? Perhaps I am just self-aware enough to know how emotionally invested I get once I start, and I'm waiting for the right time when my immersion won't cause undue hardship for my family. Let's go with that for now and you can suggest other reasons I'm unable to pull the trigger. In the meantime, long-winded explanations of my new component choices should be downright riveting, don't you think? These purchases were made at a major online cycling retailer in the UK. God help me, I found my best deals across the Atlantic again.

Crankset: Stronglight Impact Triple - Price Paid: $58

I wanted a Sugino XD500 Triple, but didn't want to pay for it. These come very close at a much lower cost, although I think they are hard to get in North America. I even read somewhere that the arms are forged by Sugino. There's an XD2R and XD2L forged into the inside surfaces of the cranks, so it seems pretty likely. JIS square taper, nothing fancy. Mine has aluminum middle and outer rings with a steel granny, which was the cheapest configuration I could find. 50-38-28.

Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN54, 68mm $15 or $25

I was told that UN54 was a perfectly good bb for touring by bike shop people, and I believe them. Again, fancy isn't my goal, but reliability does matter. Two bottom brackets? Wah? I have two of these because I ordered the first from the aforementioned UK online retailer, using the spindle length of the old bottom bracket (122mm) as a guide. Having already made my order, I learned that your bb spindle length is normally suggested by the crank manufacturer. Looked it up. 115mm. So now I have both. If neither work out, I'm hoping I could swap with a LBS. Before anybody beats me up for not shopping locally, check this out: 122mm Online Price Paid: $15 115mm LBS Price Paid: $25. On one item, no big deal. On a bunch of parts, big difference in cost. I hate it, because I want to support my LBSs, but can't afford to when I'm buying lots of stuff like this.

Pedals: Shimano A520 - Price Paid: $39

I started out looking for MTB pedals like the ones I use now, because I like spd shoes, but came across these. They're only one-sided, but some say the more spread out design reduces hot spots where your foot contacts the pedal. I don't know about that, but they sure look nice.

Bars: Oval R300 - Price Paid: $41

26.0 mm clamp. I like wider bars than the ones I took off the bike. These are 44cm wide and have that little ergo bend, which I like.

Tires: Schwalbe Marathons, 27 X 1-1/4. Price Paid: $51

Good tires, I'll bet. My winter Schwalbes have been excellent.

Bar Tape: SRAM SuperCork - Price Paid: $13

I used Deda tape on my fixed commuter build. I love the way it feels but it hasn't proven super durable. How often do you re-tape? This stuff looked similar so I thought I would try it. The bar end plugs provided are pretty nice looking too.

Chain: SRAM PC870 - Price Paid: $19

SRAM chains with their power link are what I like best now, although I didn't always. I always get the lowest price chain that features nickel plating, because I love the look of them with the alternating black and silver. I figure that buying at that price point also ensures some measure of quality.

Wow. I must actually build this bike, because I never want to write anything this boring again. Or at least this kind of boring. A different, something actually happening kind of boring would be OK with me.

Now that I am the proud owner of all these bits, please feel free to inform me how I have messed up in my selections... I mean it.

R A N T W I C K

Oh! Oh! I almost forgot the running tally. Maybe I subconsciously didn't want to see it...

Build $ Tally:

Used Frame + some parts I will re-use: $80
Used Wheelset: $100
Blasting of frame: $50
Powder Coating of frame: $50 (super deal)
Components listed above: $246
Taxes and Duties on shipment: $40

TOTAL to date: $566

Minor Updates

Update 1 - I rode with my "How's My Driving?" sign today and yesterday, but not on the weekend or Monday. No responses other than a single "omg wtf lol" as of yet. Mrs. Rantwick thinks the people/cars that see me often may get more curious over time... we shall see.

Update 2 - Time is running out to make a play for $5 in real Canadian Tire money in my Obstructionist Art contest. In hindsight I wouldn't have put the submission deadline so far away (July 1), especially because I am embarking on two weeks of vacation on July 1 and probably won't be touching a computer in that time, so no winner will be announced until July 15... foresight is not a strength of mine.

Update 3 - My Trek 520 build has been dead in the water since powder coating the frame. I did Boeshield the innards of the frame as suggested by Cafiend, knowledgeable bike mech and author of Citizen Rider. I like that Boeshield stuff. I've used it on a few other things lately too. Anyway, I have high hopes of continuing with the Trek 520 build soon, but no promises.

I think that's it. Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Trek 520 Build - Part Three - Powdered, Dusted and Sprinkled

Mmmm. Donuts. I love donuts. And recently blasted bike frames. If you showed up here because you love donuts too, I am afraid I am about to disappoint you. Take comfort in the fact that my regular visitors come here ready to be disappointed ahead of time, and maybe get yourself a donut at your local deep fried dough establishment. That should make you feel better.

This is Part Three of an ongoing series of posts documenting my painfully slow progress in building a light loaded touring bike. If you care to read the whole thing so far, use the "Post Series" link to the right.

So, to continue: I took my newly blasted bike frame to H&G Powder Painters here in London. I didn't know if it was strictly necessary, but I only handled the frame while wearing some thin disposable plastic gloves and when the H&G people saw that, they thought it was probably better that I had done so and complimented me on the care I took. It is entirely possible that they just thought I was a big freak and were lying to me, but even if that was true they certainly got the message that I wanted proper care taken with this frame.

The big question was, of course, what colour I wanted the bike to be. In completely boring but practical fashion, I went with a glossy black. There were two main reasons for my choice, the first being that I quite like "plain" bicycles in black, white or silver. The second was that H&G does "runs" of black all the time, often for industrial applications. If I had wanted something more interesting, I would have had to wait longer and possibly pay more. Decision made.

I consulted with a young man named Jason from H&G who was enthusiastic and showed very quickly that he understood what needed to be masked off and why. I got the feeling he was looking forward to doing something a little more sporty than screen doors or gardening equipment or whatever. Anyway, the frame got done and I'm really pleased with the results:

Those pictures show pretty well that the black powder looks good and stops in all the right spots (no threads or inner surfaces for me to clean out) and that my front lawn really sucks. Ah well. I like making bikes, not caring for grass. Sue me.

So that covers the "powdered" part of this post's title, but what about the rest? When I first brought the frame home I left the frame and fork on top of a wood pile on our porch. There is a ton of construction going on in my neighbourhood, which is raising lots and lots of dust. When I took it down to take some photos for this little article, it looked like this:

Now that wasn't gonna do for a "hey look at my pretty bike frame" picture, now was it? I had to rinse off the frame and give it a wipe before taking the nicer photos from earlier. Despite the little annoyances like this that the road work produces, you will never, ever hear me complain about it, because I love smooth pavement. The frame now resides in my basement tool room, where most of the dust is kept down by sweet, cool basement-y humidity and an abundance of cobwebs. So that's the "dusted" part. Now for the sprinkles!

The day after my bike was done, the aforementioned Jason gave me a call. He said he wanted to discuss how my job went. I was naturally a little concerned and went over to H&G at the first opportunity. Jason wasn't happy with how my frame coating had gone. It had sprinkles:

You may need to click on the above image for a bigger version to see the sprinkles.

For reasons Jason wasn't exactly clear on, some particles from some other job or item being treated ended up part of my powder job. Jason told me that he takes great pride in his work and that didn't want me to see these sprinkles later and come back unhappy. I had to take the frame out in the sunlight to see them at all, and overall they looked kind of like a sparse metallic fleck to me. I asked if there was any chance that the durability of the coating would have been affected, and he said absolutely not. He offered to try re-coating the frame or knock $30 off the original $80 we had agreed on. I took the $30 without a second thought. I had thought the $80 sounded like a pretty damn good price in the first place.

I would like to thank H&G for their friendly service and Jason in particular for presenting me with what may be the first ever occurrence of a price being reduced by adding sprinkles. Just try asking for that at an ice cream place and see how it goes over. I dare you.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know enough about the powder coating process to have caught this "problem" on my own. I would have paid my $80 quite happily. But they were honest and I really appreciate that. I wonder if my carrying the frame into their place while wearing silly little plastic gloves has anything to do with it? Perhaps, but I would rather think that this is just a case of a business doing the right thing in the hopes of gaining one more happy customer. They have.

Before I go, there is one more picture that I want to share with you for no good reason other than that I think it looks kind of cool:

Thanks for reading Part Three. The next parts will be about components, of course. I have 'em all picked out, but don't know when I'll be able to buy them. There's also a Police auction coming up that may yield some cheap bikes laden with good parts, but I am skeptical. Short version, don't hold your breath for the next part. Everything comes in its own time, even stuff you don't necessarily care about or want.

I have promised to keep good records of the costs involved with this build; I am beginning to regret that because the final, true cost of my bike building is going to shock me and Mrs. Rantwick, I think. A promise, however, is a promise:

Build $ Tally:

Used Frame + some parts I will re-use: $80.00

Used Wheelset: $100.00

Blasting of frame: $50.00

Powder Coating of frame: $50.00 (super deal)

TOTAL to date: $280.00

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Upon re-reading this post, it looks like I'm promoting H&G. I suppose I am, but only because I'm a happy customer. Neither have I have received any monetary consideration for what I have written, nor do they even know that I have written it.

Click here to continue to Part Four - Have Parts, Will Dawdle